Tales of the NWR
by Shootingstarstories
Summary: The Island Of Sodor is home to many engines, big and small. These are their stories. Please rate, review, and enjoy! TODAY: When Thumper is tasked to help out at the Blue Mountain Quarry, he redeems himself in Thumper Saves The Day. Featuring, my first song!
1. Snowballs

Snowballs

One morning, the engines woke up to see a thick blanket of snow lying on the ground. In fact, the entire island was covered in snow! "Botheration!" said Thomas "I'll have to wear my snowplough." The others just rolled their eyes, they heard Thomas complain about his snowplough before.

Just then, the Fat Controller came to see the engines. "Engines!" He said "As you may know, there has been a snowstorm last night so Nia and James, you two clear out Wellsworth and Edward's branch line. Henry and Rebecca, you two help Donald and Douglas on the mainline. And Percy, you go help clear out on the Little Western. The rest of you, normal jobs but go slow, as there is ice on the ground, so no high speeds. Especially you Gordon!" Gordon just groaned. "Yes Sir!" The engines said and set off to work.

Along Thomas' Branchline, there is a school. It was built a few years ago and it was not far from the tracks. The field, where the children did recess, was the closest to the tracks. A strong fence was built to prevent any children going on the tracks.

As Thomas approached the field, he saw some children playing in the field. Thomas whistled to them. "Hello!" He said, however he didn't get a reply back nor did the children wave. What they did do was throw snowballs at Thomas. "OOF!" He cried as he was bombarded with snowballs.

By the time Thomas arrived at Ffarquhar, His blue paint was covered by snow. Just then, Toby arrived. "Thomas, what happened to you?" Asked Toby "You've look like you gotten into a snow drift!" Thomas explained what had happened at the field.

"They did the same to me." Replied Toby, once Thomas had finished. "They don't know that it is dangerous to throw things at engines." Thomas agreed.

Soon, Thomas ran round his train and waited for the guard's whistle. Soon it blew and Thomas set off. "I hope, I don't run into the children again." He thought.

However, when they got to the field, the children were there, primed with snowballs. This time, Thomas didn't whistle. But the children threw the snowballs anyways. One snowball hit Thomas' driver, causing him to fall off the footplate. The fireman tried to catch him but he to fell off.

By pure luck, The fireman managed to put on the brakes before he fell out and Thomas came to an skidding halt. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Thomas' driver was livid. So was Thomas and the fireman. When they got to the next station, The driver and fireman talked to the station master about the situation at once. Soon, Toby came to collect Annie and Clarabel. And Thomas went back to the field.

When they arrived, the children were ready to throw the snowballs, but the driver and fireman stopped them. They had some stren words with the children. "We're sorry." apologized the children, once the driver and fireman had finished. "We thought it was fun to throw snowballs at trains. But it's not, we won't do it again, we promise!"

The crew and Thomas accepted the apology and for the rest of the day, no more incidents happened. I think it's best for everyone to forget it, don't you?


	2. Twin Trouble

Twin Trouble

Donald and Douglas are Scottish twins, they are peperary, helpful, and are friends with the engines. Although the twins are strong, they tend to argue a lot. One day, the twins were pulling a heavy goods train to Vicarstown and everything were going well, but further down the line, there was trouble.

Trevor the Traction engine was pulling a cart full of hay. It was needed for a festival, however, said cart was very old and haven't been used in a long time. As soon as Trevor crossed the level crossing, one of the cart's wheels fell off. To make matters worse, the cart was now stuck on the level crossing. "Great, just great!" groaned Trevor "and just when the day started so well to! How can this get any worse?"

Just then, he heard a deeptone whistle. "Me and my big mouth." muttered Trevor under his breath. Douglas, who was leading, saw the cart. "Stop!" He cried. His driver applied the brakes, but it was too late!

Luckily no one was hurt but the cart was in smithereens, Donald had remained on the rails,however Douglas had hit the cart with such force that he turned on his side and was leaning against the cutting side. Donald came to see if his twin was alright. "Why did ye push me?" asked Douglas. "I dinnie push ye, ye pulled me!" snapped Donald. "I dinnie pull ye!" Douglas shot back. "Did!" "Dinot!" "Did!" They yelled at each other till the breakdown train arrived.

They did not talk or went near each other for the rest of the day. The next day, the Fat Controller came to see them. "I need an engine to help to Duck with the ballast runs." He said. "I'll do it Sir!" volunteered Donald. "Excellent!" replied the Fat Controller and he left.

Bill and Ben were shunting nearby and heard everything. "You'll surely miss your twin." Said Bill. "I can't last even two minutes without Bill." Added Ben. "I'll be fine." assured Donald "and besides, I want to be away from Mr. Pulley!" Douglas glared "Oh for godred's sake Donnie, I dinnie pull ye!" "P'ah!" Scoffed Donald "I don't have time for this!" and he puffed angrily away.

Duck was glad to have Donald to help out. However, Donald was still in a bad mood and he took it out on both Duck and the trucks. "Why did you put yon trucks on the other line?" He asked. "I thought you wanted them on that line." said Duck. "Not that other line, the other, other line!" Snapped Donald. "But i just shunted them there!" Groaned Duck. "Fine!" Yelled Donald"If ye want to do something, ye dew it ye self!" and Donald puffed away, still angry.

Meanwhile, Douglas was pulling a tanker train to Welsworth. He was feeling lonely and had no one to talk to. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to miss his twin.

That night, Douglas' driver made Douglas to visit his twin. "What are ye doin here?" asked Donald. "Just passin by." lied Douglas. "Did ye came to apologise for pullin me?" "For the last time Donnie, I dinnie pull ye!" and with that, Douglas pulled away. As he did, his driver facepalmed.

The next morning, Donald had to pick up a load of ballast. Unfortunately, the turntable was jammed, so Donald had to go tender first. As he was waiting for his trucks to be loaded, the trucks began whispering to one another. "What should we do?" asked the front truck. "Pay him out, what did you expect?" Said another. There was an small silence. "Are you crazy?!" yelled the front truck. "We'll die, like that brake van!" The others agreed. Ever since Dominic was smashed up by Douglas, the trucks were scared they were going to be next if they misbehaved. "Look do you want to be bumped around like bumper cars or pay him out?" Asked the middle truck. "We'll pay him out!" said all the trucks. "Excellent." replied the middle truck "We'll do it on the hill!" Donald took no notice. It would've been better if he had.

Soon they came to the hill. "Watch yourself Donald!" Called his driver. But Donald didn't listen, he was too busy thinking what he would say next to Douglas when they next meet. "Now!" Yelled the trucks and banging their buffers, they pushed Donald down the hill. Donald was caught off guard. "Stop it ye devils!" Yelled Donald. His driver applied the brakes but they were useless against the trucks and the brakevan wasn't strong enough to stop them either.

A sharp bend laid ahead. Donald shut his eyes. He tipped over, burst through the fence, and went into the ditch. No one had been hurt and the trucks stayed up right, but their loads were everywhere. Donald's crew were cross with him. "This wouldn't have happened if Douglas was here." Scolded his driver "I hate to say this but, you deserved it." Now it was Donald's turn to miss his twin.

The guard walked to the nearest signal box and explained the situation to the signal man, who raised the alarm. Douglas was sadly shunting in the yard when the yard master came running up. "Donald's off the line!" He yelled "Get a crane and spare trucks!" "Donnie in trouble!" Cried Donald "I'm on my way!" When he arrived, Duck had already rerailed the trucks. The workmen came to the cranes but there was another problem, the cranes were too short to reach Donald. Thankfully, Douglas had a cable in his cab. Soon, Donald was back on the rails. "I'm sorry Dougie for being rude to ye." he said. "I'm sorry too." Said Douglas and the two puffed away, buffer to buffer to the works.


	3. The Pacific, The Gresley, and Peppercorn

The Pacific, The Gresley, and The Peppercorn

One afternoon, Gordon came back to Tidmouth Sheds in a bad mood, Rebecca noticed this. "What's wrong?" She asked. "It's my brother again." Groaned Gordon "Ever since he got famous and that overhaul, he's calling me 'little brother' when in reality, we're the same gosh darn size!" Rebecca felt sorry for Gordon. "Gordon, are you and Scotsman the only ones of your class?" She asked.

Gordon was taken it back. "No, Blue Peter, Mallard, Dominion of Canada, Sir Nigel Gresley, Union of South Africa, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bittern, and Spencer are preserved." He said "But the rest of us are scrapped." Rebecca was confused. "Are you sure about that?" She asked. "Yes." came the somber reply. "Did you ever heard of Tornado?" asked Rebeca. Gordon looked confused. "Who's Tornado?" He asked. "He's a Peppercorn class A1." Explained Rebecca "He was built in 2008 by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. Recently, he has barley betten Scotsman's record of 100MPH and he appeared on Top Gear once. He lost to the car but he won to the Motorcycle." Gordon was shocked. "H-how do you know him?" He asked "I was at the works, when he was pushed in by a diesel. Apparently, he was pulling the Ebola flyer when he hit something and it damaged his pistons."

Gordon felt better after that. The next day, he arrived at Vicarstown. But when he got there, he heard something on the other platform. "Oooohhhhh, the indignante!" "That's my line!" muttered Gordon but then he saw something and tried holding back his laughter. There was Scotsman, who was leaking steam and in front of him was an engine that was the same design of one of Gordon's classes. His nameplate read 'Tornado.' "What happened here?" asked Gordon attempting not to laugh. "Scotsman's safety valve burst." Replied Tornado. At that moment, Gordon burst out laughing. "I-is age catching up to you little brother?" Gordon forced out between laughs. Scotsman pretended he had never heard.

From that day on, Scotsman never called Gordon 'little brother' again.


	4. Rex Goes Flying

Rex Goes Flying

One morning on the miniature railway, Mr. Duncan came to see the engines. "It's going to a busy day today. Mike, i want you to do the morning ballast runs before picking up the luncheon. Bert and Jock, your regular passenger trains. Frank, help out at the ballast mines. Blisters, do your regular shunting." "Yes Sir!" Replied the engines. "What about me Sir?" asked Rex. "Rex, you've got the most important job. I need you to go to the top station and pick up the passengers back to here." "What's so special about that Sir?" "Those people are going to the airshow at Sodor Airport." Rex smiled. "Yes Sir! I won't let you down Sir!" and with that Rex puffed away.

He collected his coaches and set off to the top station. "I wonder what it will be like to fly?" thought Rex. As he puffed along, Rex imagined himself with wings, each fitted with a turbine. He was also wearing some sort of flying cap. "Rex!" Called his driver. Rex snapped out of his fantasy and he came to a halt, bumping the coaches as he did. "Be Careful, we almost overshot the platform!" Said his driver. Rex blushed. "Sorry." he said sheepishly. Rex was soon turned around and coupled up to the coaches again. As he waited for his guard's whistle, Mike chuffed up. "Mike, do you ever want to fly?" Asked Rex. Mike just rolled his eyes. "P'ah!" he scoffed "I prefer to stay on my rails thank you!" and Mike puffed away with his ballast trucks in tow.

Rex was soon off, once more he began to daydream. He imagined himself taking off the rails and beginning to fly. It looked like that it was real.

Meanwhile, Mike had just put the ballast hoppers on the chute when the emergency bell rang. "Rex is off the line!" called the foreman. When Mike arrived with the small crane, he was in for a shock. The coaches remained on the rails, but Rex was in the nearby field, upright and shaken. "What happened here?" asked Mike. "A strong gust of wind knocked Rex off and he flew from here and landed in the field." Explained Rex's driver. Mike smiled. He uncoupled from the crane and coupled up to the coaches and continued to the destination.

When Rex was back on the rails, he puffed slowly to the sheds. That night, the others were careful of what they talked about. However, they made airplane noises throughout the night. Rex didn't want to fly after that.


	5. Rusty And Fred

Rusty and Fred

Fred is the new maintenance diesel on the Skarloey Railway. Although, he's helpful, his engine keeps breaking down. This means that Rusty did most the work. One day, Mr. Percival came to see Fred. "Fred, i need you to inspect the castle causeway track." He said "There might be some kinks in the track after last night's frost." "Yes Sir!" Said Fred and he oiled away to collect the workmen.

The Castle Causeway is a line the goes in the middle of two lakes. On one end of the track was the old castle. It wasn't far from the line but no one, except Bertram, knew of how long it has been there.

Fred decided to stop near it to let the workmen out and inspect the track. As he did, he notice the water shining and his face turned sour. "Jeez, i thought it was cold last night but i didn't know that The WHOLE GOSH DARN CAUSEWAY WOULD FREEZE OVER!" Yelled Fred. Indeed, the causeway had froze over last night. A workman came to test it. "I take it it's sturdy?" asked the foreman. "Indeed, and it's very strong." Replied the workman. "Heck, you could take a car on it if you wanted!" "Enough messing around, lets see if they're any kinks." said the Foreman and they got to work.

Meanwhile Rusty was waiting to get clearance to the Castle Causeway. His driver had gone inside to get a cup of coco. A teenager saw Rusty and hopped into his cab. He fiddled with the controls before bolting off. Rusty noticed that he was moving. "Did we get clearance already driver?" he asked. There was no response. Suddenly, he noticed that his driver was in the cafeteria. "Oh no, HELP!" Cried Rusty. His driver heard the little diesel cry and ran. But it was already too late, Rusty picked up speed and disappeared.

The workmen at the causeway had finished the second to last kink, when Fred's radio fizzed into life. "RUSTY'S A RUNAWAY!" A voice yelled out from the Radio "AND HE'S COMING YOUR WAY!" Everyone went silent. "He's going to crash into us!" Cried the workmen. Fred knew what to do. "Send him into the siding!" He yelled. "But he's going, too fast!" called the foreman. "I know that he'll burst through the buffers." Fred called back "But it's our only option, he'll go on the ice, it's strong enough to hold him long enough for me to pull him back on."

The workmen wasted no time. They switched the points and Rusty zoomed onto the siding. Like Fred predicted, Rusty burst through the buffers and slid onto the ice. Then Fred hurried to the back of Rusty's train and coupled on. Slowly but surely, Fred pulled Rusty back on the rails. Fred could feel his engine getting hotter by the minute but he didn't stop. At last, Rusty was back on firm ground. At that moment, Fred's engine gave out. "That's torn it." Groaned Fred. Thankfully, Rusty hadn't suffered any damage, so he took Fred back to the sheds.

Mr. Percival was waiting anxiously when they arrived. "I've heard about what happened Fred and I'm proud of you. The Teenager has been caught and is in jail. So, has a reward, I'm having you to go to the diesel works to get a complete overhaul." "Thank you Sir!" Cried Fred "But who will do my maintenance while I'm away?" "Don't worry about that Fred, I'm sure Rusty can do the work."

The Thin Controller was good as his word and Fred had the overhaul. Now you can see Fred pulling the maintenance trains. Sometimes, the Thin Controller let him pull passenger trains which makes Sir Handle jealous. But that's a story for another day.


	6. Handling Things Diffrently

Handling things Differently

One night, Sir Handel was grumbling to the other engines. "It's not fair!" He said "Fred gets to pull passengers, while i'm stuck with those slate trucks and to top it all off, I get pushed to the sides to make way for him! It isn't right!" Bertram looked to Duke and smiled. "You know." He said "I had the same reaction you did." "Really?" asked the other engines. "Indeed." Said Bertram "Do you want to hear it?" "Yes please!" Said the engines. "Excellent." Said Bertram "The story begins in the year of 1948 and the year after that would be the Mid Sodor Railway's closure." And this is the story Bertram told.

It was a busy day on the Mid Sodor Railway and Bertram was taking some empty ballast trucks to the mines when he was diverted onto a siding. "Not this again!" Groaned Bertram as Duke passed on the other line with the picnic. "Why does he go on ahead and not me!" His driver sighed. "The picnic is an important train and Duke always gets priority." he explained. Bertram just rolled his eyes. "It isn't right!" He complained to Atlas "I always get pushed to the side by an important train! I want to pull passengers, not trucks!"

Atlas was concerned. "Bertram, your a goods engine and this is your job. Besides, you do a great job of keeping the trucks in order." But Bertram wasn't listening as he was daydreaming of him pulling passengers.

The next day, the manager came to see him. "Bertram, i need you to take Andras' express today. He took on some bad water." he said. "Yes Sir! I won't let you down Sir!" and Bertram puffed eagerly away.

When Bertram arrived at the station, he was ecstatic. "This train goes to Aresdale." Said his driver. "Just be careful, as the line is slippery." But Bertram wasn't paying any attention, he was too excited. Just then, he heard the guards whistle. "Right, off we go!" and Bertram pulled away. If he was paying attention, he would've noticed that a boy had a whistle and blew into it. It sounded just like the guard's whistle. So, Bertram had pulled away with an empty train. But he nor his driver noticed.

Bertram rocketed down the line. "Express coming through!" He called out, pretending to be like Gordon. "Take it easy!" called the driver. But Bertram wasn't listening. Up ahead, Stuart was pulling a goods train however, the trucks were up to their tricks. "Hold back!" They yelled. "Stop it!" cried Stuart. Suddenly, he heard Bertram's whistle. "Oh no!" wailed Stuart. Bertram saw Stuart and he applied his brakes but his wheels just slid on the slippery rails! Bertram shut his eyes.

The mess that followed was terrible. It was one of the worst train wrecks on Sodor. Bertram had slammed into the brake van at 20MPH and flew onto one of Stuart's trucks. The coaches had slammed into one another and were obliterated. The force had also made Stuart to come off the rails as well. Thankfully, the coaches were empty and Bertram's driver had jumped clear before the crash.

The other engines gasped. "What happened next?" asked Duncan. "The manager wasn't cross with me but he was amazed at such a crash." Replied Bertram "Since they didn't have the money to repair me, I was sent to the quarry and stayed there until Toby found me years later." There was a long silence. At last, Sir Handel spoke up. "Thank you for telling me that story." He said "I'll keep this in mind when I next get pushed to the sides." and with that the engines went to sleep. Bertram stayed awake for a bit. He thought he saw an engine in the distance, but it was too far away to recognize. Bertram decided to go to sleep and began to dream.


	7. Rebecca's Record

Rebecca's Record

One morning, Rebecca was getting ready to pull the Wildnorwestern. Gordon usually does this job, but he was feeling ill. As Rebecca got ready to pull out of Knapford, she overheard some people talking. "Good grief, this pacific will get us to Vicarstown before night!" Said one. "Nonsense!" snorted the other. "This pacific is the fastest of her class, show some respect!"

"I am the fastest!" thought Rebecca "I'll prove it!" and as soon as the guard blew his whistle, Rebecca surged forwards. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" puffed Rebecca to the coaches. She picked up speed fast and soon reached a high speed. Rebecca sped through Henry's tunnel. She wooshed past James. "Mind my paintwork" He yelled. She sped past Henry. "Bubbling boilers!" He cried. And she rocketed past Diesel. "Slow down twit!" He said.

No one had ever seen a locomotive to go that fast. But then there was trouble, Rebecca's side rod couldn't handle the speed and it suddenly snapped! "OUCH!" Cried Rebecca in pain. Her driver applied the brakes but it was acting up again and even if they were working, it would take a long time to stop. Up ahead, a goods train was waiting at a red signal. "OOOHHHHHHH-EEEERRRRR!" Groaned Rebecca and she shut her eyes. Suddenly she felt herself going onto a siding. As she did, her front wheels came off the rails and thudded on the ballast. With a bump, lurch, and a crunch Rebecca came off the rails. Although no one was hurt, Rebecca not only had a broken side rod and a twisted front bufferbeam, She was completely off the rails. "I wonder what will the Fat Controller will say." she muttered.

She soon found out. "Rebecca, why were you going so fast?" Asked The Fat Controller. Rebecca explained what had happened at Knapford. "Oh dear, you got to know your limits Rebecca. Your a really useful, no matter right."

After that, Rebecca chose to go a bit slow


	8. Thumper Saves The Day

Thumper Saves The Day

There are many machines on the Island of Sodor that do different things. For example, planes, lorries, and buses carry people and freight. Cranes lift and haul cargo, engines, coaches, and trucks. Then there are construction vehicles that repair roads, build bridges, and collect rock from the quarries. One machine, which didn't frequently appear as often, was Thumper. He was a privately owned machine from the quarry, that was supposedly was to collect the rock faster and better. However, he had gotten off to a rocky start, no pun intended. On his first day, he set a boulder lose, chasing Rusty, Skarloey, and Rehenas., nearly flattening Percy before crashing into a workman's hut/ engine shed, which was full of dynamite at the time, causing the entire building to explode. The incident damaged an engine and permanently scarring three others. Thumper had gotten over it but he never lived it down and the engines who were involved in it, didn't trust him, especially Rusty.

One day, the formen came to see him. "I need you to help out at Blue Mountain Quarry for a few days. It needs to fill out a large order of rock." He said. "Yes sir!" Replied Thumper and he set off towards the quarry. He was soon put on a flatbed and was taken to the quarry by Henry. When he arrived, Thumper received cold death stares from everyone present. The only ones that didn't give him that were Paxton and Luke.

Thumper ignored the death stares and began work. As he did, he began to sing a tune.

Way up in the mountain, hear the rumble and chuff. Wheels grinding and growling, and funnels puff.

The workmen noticed Thumper singing and began to sing along.

Got to, got to work harder, shift that slate! Got to, got to go faster, we can't be late!

The trucks began to hum to the tune as their leader sang.

Here we come up the hill, there we go, what a thrill!

Nearby, Percy shunted in tune to the music.

Working together!(yeah yeah!) Rockin and Rollin (hey!), lifting and loading (Hey!) Blue Mountain Quarry! (Yeah, Yeah!) Pullin and pushin, Heaving and hauling.

Percy, Thomas, and Henry sang the second verse.

Clanking into the coupling, cargo ready to go. Thomas, Percy, and Henry pull that load. Got to, got to work harder, move that freight! Got to, got to work faster, we can't be late! Hey, hey, hey! Here we go up the hill, there we go what a thrill!

The narrow gauge engines sang the chorus.

Working together!(yeah yeah!) Rockin and Rollin (hey!), lifting and loading (Hey!) Blue Mountain Quarry! (Yeah, Yeah!) Pullin and pushin, Heaving and hauling.

The lunch break whistle sounded and the workmen ate their lunches while the engines and machines filled up on coal, water, oil, and fuel. As they did, Gordon arrived and his driver and fireman provided the electric guitar solo. Soon the whistle sounded again and everyone went back to work.

Clanking into the coupling. Cargo ready to roll. Wheels whizzing and whirling, pull that load. Working through to the sunset, every day. Trying hard to be useful, Hey, hey, hey! Here we go up the hill, there we go what a thrill!

Gordon, Henry, Sir Handle, and Peter Sam dueted the chorus.

Working together!(yeah yeah!) Rockin and Rollin (hey!), lifting and loading (Hey!) Blue Mountain Quarry! (Yeah, Yeah!) Pullin and pushin, Heaving and hauling.

"One more time!" Yelled the forman. Every workmen, every truck, every engine, and every machine sang the chorus one more time.

Working together!(yeah yeah!) Rockin and Rollin (hey!), lifting and loading (Hey!) Blue Mountain Quarry! (Yeah, Yeah!) Pullin ad pushin, Heaving and hauling. Working together!(yeah yeah!) Rockin and Rollin (hey!), lifting and loading (Hey!) Blue Mountain Quarry! (Yeah, Yeah!) Pullin and pushin, Heaving and hauling.

When the music ended, it was dusk and everyone went home. A few days later, The quarry had almost fulfilled the order. Duncan was tasked to get a long line of trucks to the low level of the quarry for shunting. He wasn't happy about it. So, to get the job over quicker, he sped up. That was a big mistake. He reached the hill going down and applied his brakes, but the heavy trucks pushed him onwards. He hoped that no one will be on the crossing, but he was wrong. Rusty and Luke were double heading a gunpowder train. Luke was at the front and Rusty was at the back. At any moment there could be a crash. Thumper noticed this and raced towards Duncan. Duncan closed his eyes.

Duncan expected a crash, and felt his wheels leave the track, and something on his side. But he felt no explosion. He opened one eye cautiously and found himself upright, derailed, and just inches away from a stopped Luke and Rusty. Thumper had saved Duncan! "Thank ye Thumper!" he said "If it wasn't for ye, I would've been dead!" "Yes, well done!" Said Rusty, and everyone cheered for Thumper.


End file.
